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IMPROVING ENGLISH MEDIATED BY
LOCAL WISDOM AND TECHNOLOGY IN GLOBAL ERA
Retma Sari Universitas Tidar [email protected]
Abstract
Most Indonesian learners understand if they must improve their abilities in English skills. They know that big effort they make will use to survive in this era. They have to master both skills and strategies to show then compete with others to position themselves. Mastering International language collaborated with technology has significant role in this part in reaching this aims. This era serves many spots in realizing this goals. But in other context they have to understand that they are civilized people, making competition in global era without leaving good norm and culture. In this case, Indonesia education system has prioritized using local wisdom collaborated with ICT to be the core of human resource development to enter a global living. This strategy is important for Indonesia to face the golden age in 2045 indicated by having a golden generation of competitive and high quality human resources. For this purpose, learning English as international language can be a bridge to get and spread sources in competition combined with mastering high technology. Unfortunately, because it serves many modern devices and styles, learning activities fail to lead students’ understanding on their living philosophy. Consequently, the students seem insensitive to their natural, social, and local environments by means of wisdom even forgetting who they are. Although they look good in using technology devices and English, they seem empty in understanding their living, future orientation, and goals. Based on those facts this paper presents how important local wisdom collaborated technology as media (ICT) should be referred as learning resources in forming good skills and attitudes to English learners.
Keyword: Local Wisdom, Technology (ICT), English Learning
INTRODUCTION
Indonesian learners (EFL) has problem is not only concerned with developing students’
knowledge and competence of technical skills, but also related to developing an understanding on meanings and concepts of what the students learn. It is not such as theoritacally but it can also effect with lifestyle daily. It is also related with the way the students understand something. The way students view the world will make them comprehend problems, and enable them to encounter the problems in their life wisely. Language or literacy education could be regarded as a subject that may lead students to develop a better understanding to see the world. This includes English subject . It should not simply refer to an ability to read and write or mastering fourskill as its general definition, but it is more than what they just see or hear it is talking about feeling and understanding.
In spite of this, this subject should at least cover the main aspect of literacy, which begin with an ability to understand spoken words, decode written words, and conclude some deep understanding of texts but also how to share to everyone in society. For this purpose, local wisdom related materials could be used to encourage students learning experience to develop their English literacy skills. Local wisdom is the source of conventional value naturally grown up and derived from the social and natural environments that then become philosophical-deep thoughts in controlling and developing better socio-cultural system of students where they live as members of a certain group of people. Such socio-cultural value is contained in local wisdom. Then understanding the local wisdom could develop the literacy skills. Therefore, implementing local wisdom in English language teaching would lead students to develop their English proficiency along with their characters according to the local socio-cultural values (Septy, 2016).
213 Related to the explanation above students must understand besides the four skill s also how to communicte with society. It will lead students to better view and act as a member of national and global community wisely. The objective also applies to English language teaching in schools. The goal of English language teaching (ELT) should not only develop students’ English literacy skills, but also build appropriate characters in connection with local/national norms and values, so in other words, students’ English literacy skills (i.e., integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills (Arslan, 2008)) are supposed to strengthen developing appropriate characters according to the cultural values. This could be implemented in what and the way how they are taught in viewing the world.
In other hand, besides we are talking about the wisely life with society,it is needed to remain that we live in the era that much needed high technology. Such a good learner we have to understand that tevhnology must be used in this case to compete and fight in global era to prepare the smart generation. It’s why it must be balance between the way of communication and the improvement of golden age. So here not only talks about the management of teaching and learning by organizing such local wisdom oriented materials also ICT as media of learning and presenting.
FINDING AND DISCUSSION Learning English and Local Wisdom
Learning English is really important to face many challenging. Without mastering English it will border even close the chance for keeping the better life. Indonesian learners as EFL student must be smart in adopting language also it’s culture as the effect when they learn new language. Sometimes they never understand if their life is gradually moving. Unfortunately if they do not understand they can change theirselves into bad habit. It;’s why they have to obey some regulation in kearning and adopting the new languge(s) included it (their) effects.
Language learning may contain some basic principles of life that are socio-culturally transferred through some socio-cultural values and norms (Diaz-Rico, 2004; Septy & Yatim, 2016a).
Such socio-cultural values and norms could be used as guidelines in daily life. According to Diaz- Rico (2004:266), culture involves belief and values, rhymes, rules, and roles. The culture has explicit and implicit patterns for living, the dynamic system of commonly agreed-on symbols and meaning, knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, behaviors, traditions, and/or habits shared and make up the total way of life in constructing a personal identity. In particular, local wisdom is the source of conventional value naturally grown up and derived from the social and natural environment that then become philosophical-deep thoughts in controlling and developing better socio-cultural system of a certain group of people. To be more specific, local wisdom could be regarded as both universal and specific values possessed by groups of people.
Originally, local wisdom varies among societies, and it is frequently used as the basis for a group member to have normative and ideal patterns to manage and to organize their socio-cultural system. As a multi-cultural nation, Indonesia has many local values of its traditional-socio-cultural life that could be referred to as learning resources to especially undertake character-based education.
So, in this relation, literacy learning should let students understand cultures, more importantly how they could live in their own cultural values reflecting their identity and integrity. It is the essence of character based teaching. Then, it is the role of teachers to manage lesson materials containing such cultural values-local wisdom in English language teaching. Language is used for communication and, in particular, for social and personal interactions. In a communication practice, a speaker reflects his/her personality. So, in a language learning process, developing personality becomes important as well as developing communicative competence.
What makes human becomes human is the way how human beings communicate by means of language. In this circumstance, language expressions are naturally influenced by the way they have socio-cultural features (Nuraeni & Alfan, 2012:66-70). As English language learning is concerned, then English language teaching will include learning the way to communicate according to the contexts of socio-cultural values (Sun, 2014; Septy, 2015a).
214 Furthermore, character based teaching has also been signaled in the current system of national curriculum. Despite some weaknesses, the current national curriculum of 2013 has outlined to integrate competence and character into four main competencies; knowledge and skill (competence) and spiritual and social attitudes (characters) (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013). Related to this issue, language lessons should be managed to develop not only students’
linguistic mastery (i.e. sentence structures, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.), but also characters (attitude and values). The attitudes relate to students’ personality religiously and socio-culturally.
Although it is not clear what resources to refer to in developing students’ spiritual and social attitudes, this paper suggests to consider relevant religious reference (i.e., Al Qur’an and Al Hadist) and local wisdom in developing communicative competence of character values. As the objective of national education is referred to in English language teaching, students’ English literacy learning is not only to develop English competence, but also to build character according to eastern philosophy.
There are a number of aspects related to characters referred to in the English language competence. The aspects include linguistic and discourse mastery as well as social-cultural awareness and understanding, and communication strategy appropriateness (Canale& Swain, 1980;
Septy, 2015b:7). Similarly, according to Lane (2001), communicative competence may include (1) ability to adapt (adaptability/flexibility), (2) ability to involve in conversation (conversational involvement), (3) ability to control conversation (conversational management), (4) ability to express empathy (empathy), (5) ability to act effectively (effectiveness), and (6) ability to act appropriately (appropriateness). This means that such communicative competence reflects character values that speakers may refer to as their cultures and these are important to be developed in students’
spokenand/or written communication skills.
From those explanations above, we can say that actually learning foreign languages example English, it can not be left from the culture. Each learner has their own characteristic which is not far from their habit or surrounding. This can support their ability because by using their owns it will be easier to adopt. Learning western languages means that they also learns about the culture. So to avoid about missing in adopting the knowledge learning foreign language must be not ignored the orgininal one. Shortly, cultural awareness/understanding may become an important issue in English communicative competence. The ability to communicate should not disregard character values that are generated from cultural values, and this could be a determining resource in improving students’
English proficiency. Besides, this cultural resource could relate to the process of character building.
Therefore, the culturally based resources have to be considered in selecting teaching-learning materials. But in other way, we have to understand that the learning must be followed by the development of ICT in order to keep the competition.
ICT Media In Learning English Combining Local Wisdom
When talking about Technology it is not separated with the media used in education.
Contextually the material talks about very traditional orconventional but it must be covered with the high technology. It is used to prepare the facing of the golden era which required the high information, technology and communication.
Information-Communication-Technology (ICT) media might be generally referred to as audio tape, mobile phone, computer, television, radio, video tape and emails (Thapaliya, 2014: 251).
In education, ICT media refers to computer based or computer assisted learning in which lesson materials are organized into digital presentations. As computer becomes the main tool in presenting lesson materials, organizing lesson materials into computer will make learning more attractive and advantageous (Ibrahim, 2010; Susikaran, 2013; Ebrahimiet al., 2013; Sadeghi & Dousty, 2013;
Septy, 2015a). This also suggests organizing English lesson materials of local wisdom content into ICT based media would benefit both students and teacher.
Using ICT media for teaching has some advantages; (a) to facilitate teaching and learning, (b) to organize lesson materials, (c) assesesment and (d) giving corectionor feedback. To facilitate the teaching and learning meansthat ICT media will ease students to understand lesson materials, as well as to ease teachers to manage classroom activities. On the other hand, the ICT media will also
215 help teachers organize massive lesson materials into friendly-user formats.Moreover, there are also other benefits in having the ICT media in the classroom. First, students may feel that they experience the learning in a real context. The ICT media can display still or animated materials that may be impossible to have in a traditional teaching mode and classroom or it is called authentic learning. So from this case will have some benefits such as (1) affect students’ positive motivation, (2) provide actual cultural information, (3) provide a real exposure on the target language, (4) relate to students’
needs and (5) support creative approaches to learning
In this case , some component in teaching learning process must be involved in active activities. The material designed in the ICT-media packaged in an interesting topic so the students can learn it comfortably. If ths atmosphere can happen continually, the learning target can be achieved easily.
CONCLUSION
Developing English competence should be related to cultural and local wisdom as learning materials in order to the learners never ignore about their actually owned. When they learn about language which never leaves on local cultire they should be understand that the time goes on. Every year information and technology develop rapidly. So being a good competitor we have to remember that we also learn ICT. It’s why this paper also offers how to organize such local wisdom oriented materials into relevant ICT media of interesting audio and visual presentations that provide many advantages in the management of teaching and learning of English literacy skills.
So, English literacy education would need to include local wisdom related resources in teaching/learning materials. Learning socio-cultural values of local wisdom could make learning the literacy skills possible; the students develop their English proficiency along with their character building according to the local socio-cultural values and to facilitate the teaching and learning means that ICT media will ease students to understand lesson material.
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